Wal-Mart evacuated due to bomb threat

Thomaston — For the second time in about two months, a bomb threat was called into the Route 1 Wal-Mart superstore Jan. 5, causing it to be evacuated, according to Police Chief Kevin Haj.

Haj said an employee at the store received a phone call at about 4:10 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 5, from what sounded like a young male with laughter in the background.

The building was evacuated and police from Thomaston and the Knox County Sheriff's Office, backed up by the fire department, searched the building and determined it was safe. The process took about two hours.

The perpetrator used a Magic Jack to make the call through the Internet rather than by a landline, Haj said.

The person calling in the threat could be charged with raising a false public alarm, a Class D misdemeanor crime, and making a false report. They could also be forced to pay for the cost of the evacuation in terms of both the police and fire coverage and the loss of business to the store, Haj said.